Painting
by mimma
Summary: By popular demand, a sequelprequel to Portrait. complete
1. Pose

Painting.

By popular demand, a sequel/ prequel to Portrait.

Pose 

Aggrieved, Nadil scowled at the hapless artist the Castle Administrator had commissioned to do their portrait. He was an elf who had done many other such works for the Dragons, but was seriously considering walking out, and would have done so, if he was facing anyone else other than the explosive Wind Dragon Knight and the Heir to the Dragon Kingdom.

"I _refuse _to stand like this for 6 hours," Nadil was declaring, nearly jamming his finger up the poor elf's nose. "I hardly see why we must adopt this overtly taxing pose just to satisfy your idea of aesthetic beauty."

"Oh, don't fuss, Na-chan, _I _have no objections." Cooed a highly amused Raselene from where she was draped over a velvet armchair.

Nadil swung on her. "Says the lazy girl who'll be sitting down in a nice, comfy chair while _we_ have to stand."

Lykouleon slanted bored eyes at the squabbling couple. Veteran of hundreds of paintings (whatever they were for…), he knew that in the end, the artist would get his way. Argument was futile. Amusing, but futile. Heaving a sigh, he started persuading his (supposedly) best friend to see reason.

The sooner they got this over with, the better.

-_8 hours later-_

"I ache." Nadil moaned, running a hand over his neck.

"My head," Raselene moaned. "My head…"

"All I can say is," Lykouleon murmured. "That portrait better be top class material, or I'll skin that damned elf."

"Agreed."


	2. Pin

Painting.

By popular demand, a sequel/ prequel to Portrait.

Pin

"OW!"

"See!" I told you to stop wiggling; this is difficult enough as it is."

A white-blond boy, rolling his eyes at that exchange, opened the door and strode in on his best friend and fiancée mock-fighting each other with the pointy ends of cloak-pins.

Chuckling, the Dragon Prince leaned against the door frame and remarked, "Na-chan, you're losing."

"Don't call me Na-chan." The Wind Dragon Knight retorted more out of habit than anything else, since he was seated on the floor parrying Raselene's … deadly thrusts.

Raselene grinned, "The best fighter in the kingdom is losing to a girl with a cloak-pin. Hah!"

"I am a master swordsman," huffed Nadil. "not a master cloaks-pin man. And- Ow!"

Nadil stuck his thumb in his mouth. "She _pricked_ me! I'm _injured_! I-"suddenly brightening "- I can't sit for the portrait! I'm _free_!"

"Oh, no you don't," said Lykouleon firmly, putting a hand on his best friend's head. "You got out of my birthday ball by falling down the stairs and claiming you strained a muscle. You got out of greeting the delegation from Arinas by going demon hunting and coming back covered in blood. You got out of the inspection by getting yourself lost in the Misty Valley. You are _not_ going to get out of the portrait sitting by saying you got an infection because Raselene pricked you with a cloak-pin."

"But it's a very _dirty_ cloak-pin", whined Nadil, smirking at his (supposedly) superior. (A/n: dirty thoughts, too…)

"But nothing." Lykouleon dragged him up and out by his dress cloak.

"He still needs to wear his cloak-pin.", observed Raselene.

"I'm not wearing that pin, it's hideous."

"Well, if you don't want it, I do." Replied Raselene with decision, pinning it on her self.

The door closes behind them, and the vision spell dissipates.

Cesia looks at the portrait (in which Nadil is still not wearing a cloak-pin, and Raselene is wearing one that clashes with the rest of her outfit), and wonders again how the Wind Dragon knight became the Demon lord, and how Nadil would react if she ever called him 'Na-chan' to his face.


	3. Party

Painting.

By popular demand, a sequel/ prequel to Portrait.

Party

One word could easily describe the scene that all country girls dream of facing, the scene in which they imagined the knight of their dreams sweeping them off their feet to a life of adventure and romance: Boring.

Nadil, Lykouleon and Raselene, at least (and for once), concurred on this fact.

And, well, a party to view a _painting?_ One comment that comes to mind is, 'good god, don't these people have anything better to do?"

Raselene quietly voiced the above concern.

"Good _god_, don't these people have anything better to do?"

"Unlikely," rumbled Lykouleon from somewhere to her right.

"_Look_ at Lady Elizabeth's dress," she hissed. "There were _floods_ in her father's fief this year. The cost of the materials _alone_ could rebuild all ten of the villages that were swept away. _And_ it's new."

Nadil looked faintly surprised, "I'm not sure if you're bitching about the dress or the villages."

"Maturity? From the first daughter of the richest family in the kingdom?"

All three swung around, Nadil and Lykouleon instinctively moving forward to block her, and Nadil bared a fang.

"Get out of our faces, Kharl," sneered Raselene. "Run back to your master, _Renkin wizard_."

The white haired demon smirked at them. Included in the Arinan diplomatic party by virtue of his master's influence, Raselene and Lykouleon had taken an instant dislike to him. After one conversation with the demon supremacist (it would have been nice not to be the only demon here…), Nadil was forced to agree.

Now, Kharl opened his eyes very wide and chirped, "And miss this _all-important_ event? This is quite possibly the only portrait ever made which will feature _all _three of you together." He smiled, a sweet polite fake little smile which made Nadil's claws flex.

"Ignore him," ordered Lykouleon, _sotto voice. _

Under the cover of the elvish artist pontificating on about the merits of his painting (which only differed from the several other hundred paintings in the castle because of its subject matter), Raselene snarled, "I'd happily skin him."

"Oh, I don't know," breathed Nadil reflectively. He still hadn't sheathed his claws. "He might have his uses."

Lykouleon shrugged. "If you think so."

-

And that was the end of the 'Painting' series. I hope you enjoyed it.


End file.
